


All I ever Learned from Love...

by The_Winter_Winchester



Category: Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Protective Steve, Some Fluff, Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes - Freeform, Stucky - Freeform, Tortured/Hurt Bucky, ptsd bucky
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-19 16:22:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 10,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7368985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Winter_Winchester/pseuds/The_Winter_Winchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The only other thing he can recall is a name on his lips. A name that he cried over and over again as waves of terror and agony crashed over him. It was such a small word, so seemingly unimportant, but as he said the word now, though it was alien, it brought a sense of comfort, of home. And even in the gray of the walls surrounding him, the name brought the feeling of, hope, and that, broke him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

-Steve-

 

“On your left!”

It was just nearing morning when Steve had gotten up, put on a tightly fitted gray T-shirt, dark blue pants, white sneakers, and headed out for his morning run. Now the light was breaking over the New York skyline, he was surprised when he found that he wasn’t alone in his habits however.

This kid was in no way his speed, but running with him was quite refreshing. Out of habit every time Steve passed him he shouted a useless, “On your left!” And smiled to himself as he watched the kids frustration visibly building.

Steve could sympathize though, he could remember the exact same frustration building in him when Bucky would run past, he always got a kick out of watching Steve put on a burst of speed after each “On your right!” then promptly stumble or slow. After Bucky’s twenty laps and Steve’s five he would always wrap his arm around his neck and say something along the lines of, “You know, maybe we should get you a scooter, then maybe you could keep up.” To which Steve would reply, “I’m gonna beat you one of these days.” After this would follow their tradition of,

“Punk”

“Jerk”

Steve’s face grew solemn at the memory, these were memories best left behind, however as he quickly approached the man running ahead he heard him say,

“Don’t say it, don’t you say it!”

Steve smiled once again and said, “On your left!”

“Come on!”

It was all Steve could do to not laugh, after a couple more laps he slowed upon seeing the man leaning against a tree, out of breath.

“Need a medic?”

The man looked up, startled, then chuckled, “I need a new set of lungs, dude, you just ran, like, thirteen miles in thirty minutes.”

Steve looked down  
“Guess I got a late start.”

“Really? You should be ashamed of yourself. You should take another lap, did you just take it? I assume you just took it.”

Steve laughed lightly at the obvious humor, “What unit you with?”

Fifty eighth para rescue, but now I’m working down at the VA. Sam Wilson.”

The man, Sam, reached up and Steve helped him to his feet, “Steve Rogers.”

“I kind of put that together. Must have freaked you out, coming home after the whole defrosting thing.”

Steve sighed, “Takes some getting used to. It was good to meet you Sam.”

“It’s your bed right?”

“What’s that?”

“Your bed, it’s too soft. When I was over there I would sleep on the ground, using rocks for pillows, like a caveman. Now I’m home, lying in my bed, and it’s like…”

“Lying on a marshmallow, feel like I’m gonna sink right through the floor. How long?”

“Two tours. You must miss the good old days huh?”

“Not so bad, foods a lot better, the Internet, so helpful, been reading that a lot, trying to catch up.”

“Marvin Gaye, 1972, Trouble Man soundtrack, everything you missed, jammed into one album.”

“I’ll put it on the list.”

Steve nods and takes out the notebook he uses to keep track of everything he needs to do or see, already on that page was, I love Lucy (Television), Moon landing, Berlin Wall, Steve jobs (Apple), Disco, Thai Food, Star Wars/Trek, Nirvana (Band), Rocky (Rocky Ⅱ?) and now Troubleman (Soundtrack) was added to the book. Steve reached out and shook Sam’s hand, and with a smile he said,

“All right Sam, thanks for the run, if that’s what you want to call running.”

“Oh so that’s how it is?” Sam replied with a smirk.

“Ohhh that’s how it is!” Steve gave his hand one last shake and stepped back.

“Okay then!” The glint of humor in Sam’s eye was apparent as they parted ways.

“Anytime you want to stop by the VA, make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know.” Sam added as an afterthought. Steve smiled and nodded, “I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Okay.”

Just like that Natasha rolled up in a sleek black car and rolled down the window, “Hey fellas, either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I’m here to pick up a fossil.” She smiled out the window as Steve walked towards her, “That’s hilarious.” He said sarcastically. Sam crouched down and looked through the window at Natasha, “How you doing?”

“Hey.” Natasha said with a nod. Steve looked out the window and thought, I would hate to see their kids, all that sass in one person, instead he said, “Can’t run everywhere.”

“No you can’t.” Sam said with a grin as the car pulled out. Steve turned and looked ahead once again. He looked out the front window and smiled to himself, the kid reminded him of Bucky, Steve’s smile faded as he thought of the last time he had seen his best friend. He dug his nails hard into his arm, willing away the sharp sting of the wind on his face, the screams, as Bucky fell.

 

. . .


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Why torture yourself when life will do it for you?"  
> ~ Author Unknown

-Bucky-

 

He woke to screaming muscles and metal straps securing him to a table. A doctor was leaning over him, he immediately jumped when his eyes snapped open. The accent in his voice was strong as he spoke, “Lie still Soldier, the commander will be in to see you shortly.” The Soldier did as he was told as he looked back on his memory, trying to find something, anything, to explain where, or even who, he was.

The last thing he could remember was pain, not the pain of a cut or broken bone, but a pain beyond words, beyond imagination. He could remember thrashing and trying desperately to escape the bonds, he remembered the point when he stopped screaming, when he could no longer muster the strength to resist, when instead he lay there, sobbing uncontrollably, his entire body still seizing beyond his control, he remembers the sound of something shattering within him, but feeling no other pain than the immediate. The only other thing he can recall is a name on his lips.

A name that he cried over and over again as waves of terror and agony crashed over him. It was such a small word, so seemingly unimportant, but as he said the word now, though it was alien, it brought a sense of comfort, of home. And even in the gray of the walls surrounding him, the name brought the feeling of, hope, and that, broke him. He began to shudder, however he found himself still strapped to the table he had been on in the vague memories of pain.

Before he knew what was happening a man was in front of him, in his hands he held a red book, it was quite simple, dark red leather bound with a small black star on the cover. The man began speaking, he was not speaking English and yet The Soldier understood every word,

“Zhelaniye (Longing,)”

The word caused The Soldier to convulse and gasp for air. “No.”

For some reason these words whispered of hidden things, things that were beyond his control, things that he had done.

“Rzhavyy (Rusted,)”

His voice grew rougher with labor, his chest heaving, The Soldier forced out the only word he could hope to save him from the monster lying in wait. “Stop.”

“Semnadtsat’ (Seventeen,)”

The Soldier felt something related to this word in particular, a birthday, possibly his? He was pleading now, there was someone hiding deep beyond these words, someone that, when released, does unspeakable things. The Soldier was breathing harshly now.

“Rassvet (Daybreak,)”

The man continued speaking as though he was not aware of the beast in front of him.

“Pech’ (Furnace,)”

He was shaking now, his anger was turning into fear as the memories of past missions came crashing back with each syllable. “Stop!” His head bucked up then slammed back against the table as he yelled. He could no longer force out words, of course, he now knew no one would listen even if he was able to speak, he was filthy…

“Devyat’ (Nine,)”

…Evil…

“Dobroserdechnyy (Benign,)”

…Tainted…

“vozvrashcheniye na rodinu (Homecoming,)”

…Wrong…

“Odin (One,)”

…Worthless…

“gruzovoy vagon (Freight car.)”

…Nothing, the last word had the greatest impact, it brought back the sensation of falling, the sound of a man’s voice calling for him, reaching for him. With this last word he grew still, he felt the restraints being removed from his arms, he slowly sat up and continued looking down.

“Good morning, Soldier.”

The Soldier flicked his eyes up to the Handler, as with a stone cold face he said, “Ready to comply.”

. . .


	3. Chapter 3

-Steve-

As Steve and Natasha pulled into S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters they were greeted by a tired looking but seemingly in tact Clint. As they both got out of the car Natasha moved around to give Clint a hug while Steve gave him a nod over her shoulder. It had been a couple months since he had seen the whole team together. Only last week he had been with Natasha and Jim for a public escort of such.

That’s when the assassin had come, Steve shook his head a little, banishing the small hopes he had that maybe, just maybe, Bucky was still alive. He, Natasha and Clint walked together, exchanging small talk about recent cases and various aspects of home life. When they reached The Avengers room they found Tony, Jim, Bruce and, surprisingly, Thor waiting for them with several S.H.I.E.L.D. and government representations also staring expectantly at the door.

  
As Steve entered he gave a brief nod to everyone in the room then took his usual place around the table. “So what’s all this about?” He looked to Tony for explanation for why they were called in so suddenly. “Well Cap, it seems that I alone can not infiltrate and take over the biggest enemy to the United States and much to my dismay S.H.I.E.L.D. has decided to bring in backup, hence, why you are all here.” Steve turned to Fury looking slightly surprised. “We’re finally going for it?” He asked, Fury nodded slowly while Bruce raised his hand a little saying, “I’m sorry but am I the only one who has no idea what’s going on here?”

“We’re going to infiltrate Hydra.” Tony said simply. Steve had tuned out of the conversation by the time that Bruce had begun to say what a stupid idea this was. Steve could remember the last time he had set out to destroy Hydra, it was shortly after he had rescued the remaining men and saved Bucky, then they promptly fled as the place went up in flames. He and his elite group of soldiers, The Howling Commando’s, as they liked to call themselves, tried to go back and finish Hydra off for good, of course, that day was the one where he had lost his best friend.

Steve shook himself out of his stupor in time for the argument between Fury and Bruce to end and Fury to tell them, “Do not tell anyone about this latest assignment, some people here are less than pleased about the idea, thinking that Hydra may have it right, oh, and one last thing before we start discussing plans, Hydra, though not as strong as it once was, still has a few tricks up their sleeves, the biggest of which goes by the name The Winter Soldier I’m sure you have all heard stories about him. That may be all he is, however, he is deadly, and if we should run into him, we’re gonna have some serious problems.”

——

After the team had gone over the basic layout and strategies they could use to help give them the advantage Steve had headed home exhausted, however he was not able to find sleep, he lay in his bed for hours just remembering. He thought of when he first met Bucky, he was just a scrawny twelve year old getting beat up by kids far bigger than himself, then Bucky had stepped in. Only a year older, Bucky had beaten those kids senseless and helped Steve off the ground.

Steve can still picture the small smile on Bucky’s face as he introduced himself. He could remember when they found out that America had joined the second World War, they were in the same art class when they heard the news, that very evening they had sworn to each other that when they inevitably joined they would always have each others backs. Steve saw all these memories as if he were watching a movie, they passed in front of his eyes without his consent. Finally he gave up trying to sleep and instead called Natasha, hoping she would still be up. Steve tapped his fingers on his desk as he waited for her to pick up. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Steve, you mind if we meet up?”

“No, where do you want to do it?”

“How ‘bout at the coffee shop you’re always talking about.”

“See you there.”

Steve threw on his leather jacket over the T-shirt he was wearing but decided to leave on the light blue sweat pants. As he walked out the door he threw on a dark blue baseball cap and stepped out into the cold morning. After so short walk he came upon a small Cafe where Natasha was already waiting for him. As he sat down he removed the cap and took a sip of the coffee she had ordered for him.

“What’s all this about Steve? You’ve been acting weird ever since Fury announced we were taking Hydra.” Instead of answering her question he asked another. “What do you know about the man we… met, last week, the one with the metal arm.”

“Why do you want to know?” She tilted her head ever so slightly.

“Just a matter of interest.”

“Most of the intelligence community doesn’t believe he exists, the ones that do, call him the Winter Soldier. He’s credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years.”

“So he’s a ghost story.” Steve said, almost disappointed.

“Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot out my tires near Odessa, we lost control and went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out but the Winter Soldier was there, I was covering the engineer so he shot him, straight through me.”

Natasha pulled up her shirt a tiny bit to reveal a scar on her stomach.

“Going after him is a dead end I know, I tried, like you said he’s a ghost story.” She finished.

“Maybe…”

After a few more questions that Steve brushed off he returned home. Once again lying in his bed he remembered something that Bucky had once done. They were in their camp when a small group from the other side came in and grabbed Bucky, hauling him off, unconscious, while they were dragging him, Bucky had woken up, grabbed his gun, but unable to reach back to his attacker he had shot himself through the left shoulder, killing the other man.

He had then promptly killed the other four and stumbled back through the night. For the rest of their stay at that particular local everyone had called Buck Holy due to the hole in his shoulder. It was almost like Bucky’s signature move. Something about Natasha’s story brought that up, Steve just couldn’t shake the feeling that he was out there. No matter what name he went by, he was always going to be his Bucky.

. . .


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "It's so strange that autumn is so beautiful; and yet everything is dying"  
> ~ Author Unknown

-Bucky-

 

The Soldier walked alone down the walking path on the side of the bridge, it was an ordinary day and yet children were running and playing, not a care in the world, families were gathered to look down from the edge of the massive Brooklyn Bridge. They stared in awe, The Soldier looked down at the activator in his hand. Hydra had chosen this night, The Soldier did not understand why they sent him to this location.

The bridge was huge yes, but of all the symbols of power, why this one? They had laughed like it was some kind of inside joke when they had told him the location. He shook his head fiercely, it was not his job to question or understand. It was his job to make this thing explode. There was only one thought in his head as he stood patiently and waited, his mission: Steve Rogers. The Soldier took a few steps back and, while doing so, raised his hand, preparing to press the button.

However while stepping back he ran into something. He whipped around and his free hand went to his knife. His eyes focused in on the thing that had touched him. It was a child. No more than ten years old he would think. The Soldier stepped back as the boy bounced back to his feet. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t see you, hey do you have a metal arm? That’s so cool! My grandpa had a wooden leg, yours looks way more awesome though. I’m Dylan.” The boy reached out his and and shook his.

The Soldier recoiled like he had been burned. A man’s voice called the child away and without a word he sprinted off. The Soldier couldn’t breath, it had touched him, he wasn’t supposed to be touched. He was tainted, he was wrong, he was The Winter Soldier, cold, ruthless, nothing so light should be near him, he would only ruin that too. He watched the kid run to a man who seemed vaguely familiar, the man directed the kid back to his family then stood from his previously crouched position. He started walking towards The Soldier and immediately The Soldiers shaken composure turned to one of steely resolve.

He no longer had the intention of blowing up this precious structure. What he was hoping to lure in, had come to him. The Soldier could feel his metal arm shifting and hear the whirring as it prepared for action. His breathing was slow in his mask, everything about him was hidden apart from the eyes. “Drop it.” Rogers said as he stopped mere yards away. The Soldier bent and placed the activator on the cool grass. Never taking his eyes off of his target. As soon as the thing was on the ground he sprang to his feet, pulled his gun and shot. The echoing sound of the bullet leaving the gun and deflecting off Rogers shield was enough to bring everyone to their feet, screaming and running. The Soldier knew the first shot wouldn’t be enough but he had never really been the kind of thing to wait for the opponent to make the first move. Hydra gave The Soldier an order, this man won’t live any longer than he must.

. . .

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

-Steve-

 

Civilians were screaming as they ran, The Winter Soldier pulled a larger gun from behind his back as Steve rolled behind a nearby car, there were many on the bridge and he was able to maneuver himself around to the other side of this man without being spotted.

The Winter Soldier walked slowly and purposefully towards where Steve had vanished. Steve leapt on top of a car and onto The Soldier’s back, attempting to choke him with his arm. The Winter Soldier threw himself back into a car then flipped Steve over his head. Steve groaned at the impact but raised his shield in time to protect his body from two more powerful shots. “Get out of the way! Stay out of the way!” He yelled from behind his shield as a family ran to close for comfort. True enough The Soldier pointed his gun to a woman crouched behind a car, Steve ran the few yards to get in between them.

The Soldier drew back his metal arm and slammed it as hard as he could into the shield above Steve’s head. Steve gritted his teeth with the impact and it was all he could do to not go flying. This was remedied when The Soldier swiped aside the shield with his other hand and kicked Steve full in the chest. This did cause him to go flying. He was thrown into a car with enough force to dent the metal beyond repair, Steve fell to the ground and raised his shield to deflect yet another round of bullets.

Then The Soldier ran out of ammo and pulled his knife, in the brief window Steve stood and ran towards him thinking, _You couldn’t have become a doctor? No, you had to be a freaking serum man._ Steve drove his shields edge into the metal of The Soldiers arm as hard as he could, driving it in as deep as he could. Mistake. The Soldier grabbed the shield and threw it at Steve, he bent out of the way just in time to not lose his head.

Steve ran towards the man and they became a tangle of flesh metal and knives as they fought, Steve threw The Soldier against a car and proceeded to kick him in the chest. He grabbed the man by his shoulders and flipped him. The Soldier rolled and in the process lost the mask covering his face. He stood slowly and turned his head to Steve. “Bucky?” Steve was immobilized as waves of disbelief crashed over him.

“Who the hell is Bucky?” The man spoke in a rough, oh so familiar voice as he grabbed Steve’s disposed of gun off the ground and raised it to shoot once more. He couldn’t move, his best friend was looking at him, he could see that face that had haunted him all these years. Then a crash. Steve looked up to see Tony fly in and kick Bucky out of sight. No matter where Steve looked, he couldn’t set eyes on him again. . . .


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The loneliest moment in someone's life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly."  
> ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

-Bucky-

 

“Mission report.” The Soldier sees the man’s lips moving but hears nothing, instead he stares dazedly ahead. Making no acknowledgment of the blond's presence.

“Mission report, Now!” He still makes no move, instead continues to look straight ahead, the same lost expression on his face. The sharp sound of a hand upon flesh echos around dismal room, however, The Soldier makes no sound, he had learned to never show if he was in pain, he simply raises his head and his eyes slowly settle on his so called “handler.”

He furrows his brow, almost puzzled. The Soldier can hear the roughness from lack of use and pure desperation in his voice when he speaks. “There’s a man on a bridge. Who was he?” In his head The Soldier sees the figure of a man, he’s calling his name but The Soldier can’t seem to hear him. The handler looks down, and momentarily The Soldier sees something, doubt? As quick as it came it was gone, the man looked at him once more and spoke with utter confidence.

“You met him earlier this week on another assignment.” Maybe this was true, but he had other memories of that face, bruised and bloody in an alleyway, terrified as his body was wrapped around a grenade, smiling and laughing as he walked beside an equally happy man whom he had called Bucky, and screaming as he reached for, what The Soldier could only assume, was his own hand, as The Soldier fell. These memories flitted by and were gone as soon as he had time to register them. “I knew him.”

He lowered his head, almost in an attempt to hide behind his wave of dark hair, pain was etched on his face, those three words represented things he had not known in a very long time. The man in front of him sat down and spoke. “Your work has been a gift to mankind. You shaped the century. And I need you to do it one more time. Society is at a tipping point between order and chaos, tomorrow morning we’re gonna give it a push. But if you don’t do your part, I can’t do mine. And Hydra can’t give the world the freedom it deserves.”

Anger and despair settled in on The Soldier. He was being given an order, no matter how kindly said, this was an order, when the man had finished speaking The Soldier could no longer look at him, his eyes were wide and his mouth was set in a firm line. He had a duty to fulfill but, the memories lying just beyond reach were begging him to let go, to let them in, no matter the pain it would cause. “But I knew him.” It’s everything he can do to not let his voice crack. Something is happening, something he can not explain.

The Soldier is not supposed to care. The Soldier is not supposed to feel. The Soldier is supposed to follow orders, not think about them. And yet… The Handler stands up and says the inevitable. “Prep Him.” The cold voice reaches him even in through the fog that seems to be clouding his mind. With those words the helpless feeling returns to The Soldier. He looks straight ahead once more as one of the many assistants in the room timidly speaks up. “He’s been out of Cryo freeze too long.”

The Handler looks directly into The Soldiers pleading face as he says, “Then wipe him, and start over.” Fear. That is all that The Soldier is aware of. In the back of his head he understands that he has felt this before, he remembers falling, a voice shouting after him, an alien voice, and yet somehow comforting. This voice vanishes as two hands push him onto his back. He is once again in the claws of the machine that brings nothing but pain.

He opens his mouth to let one of the assistants place a mouth guard in his mouth. His whole body tenses as metal bands wrap around his arms and legs. He can feel his body trembling and is vaguely aware of the eyes trained on him. The soldier's heaves as he tries desperately to inhale the air that refuses to come. His heart beat is echoing deafeningly in his ears. He closes his eyes momentarily as the the electricity from the metal zaps near his head.

His eyes start to tear up as pure terror consumes him. And then, agony. It feels as though drills are burrowing into his flesh and at the same time fire is licking away at his body. He knows he’s screaming but can focus on nothing but the pain. His body thrashes and bucks and panic and pain is all he knows. His brain tries to find something, anything else, but it’s no use, this torture is far beyond death. . . .


	7. Chapter 7

-Steve-

 

Bucky’s alive. Steve has whispered it to himself a thousand times over but still can’t believe it. The numb of shock had started to wear out as he approached Stark tower. After Tony’s surprise arrival he had insisted on driving Steve to the tower so that he could get some rest in the room that was reserved specially for him. All of the Avengers had a room in Stark tower, in case they had to meet up or plan something.

Tony dropped him off at his room with a concerned expression. He had noticed Steve’s muttering and distance on the drive back. He said good night and instructed Jarvis not to let anyone interrupt either of them. Steve walked into his room and sat on the bed, not bothering to turn of the lights. He sat there, thinking about everything, about what Hydra must have done to turn him into The Winter Soldier.

Steve is not alien to pain in any way but the torture used to turn Bucky, loyal, kind, snarky Bucky into what he had seen today, that was something he couldn’t bear to think about. Steve couldn’t stop his brain from running, what if I had jumped after him at the ravine, I could have survived, I could have saved us both, I let him down. I let him fall. He trusted me, “To the end of the line.” That was us, but I didn’t save him.

Steve’s hands flew to his hair and pulled as hard as they could. He stood up and began pacing the room, the light from the moon glinted off several crystal lamps just as the light had once bounced off his shield. Before it was colored, just a simple circle. He remembered turning to Bucky, holding up the shield and saying, “What do you think?” And watching as Bucky grabbed a gun from a nearby table and fired three shots directly into the shield.

Steve then looked up warily as Bucky spoke. “Yes, I think it works.” He had said with a grin. Steve lashed out and caused one of the crystal lamps to go flying into the wall. He sat down heavily on the too soft mattress. Steve had loved his best friend. But this, this was not Bucky.

 

. . .

 

-Bucky-

 

He was weak. Barely alive. He has no idea how to move or even how to think. The people around him speak in an odd language that he can somehow understand, “What shall we do with him? He is in no condition to go out in the field until he regains some of the memories we have programed into him.” “Put him in the Cryo then. We won’t need him until Alexander comes up with a new way of beating the Avengers.” He says the word with distaste although it brings back nothing to the near lifeless form on the table.

He can feel hands lifting him and then placing him in container of sorts. The thing holding him begins to move and he can feel himself being carried far away from the voices in that dull room. When the vessel finally stops and he opens his eyes he finds himself in a even darker room with only one thing in it. It looks like a giant test tube. A man enters the room, looking down at his clipboard.

He raises his head and directs The Soldier onto a platform underneath the glass cylinder. The Soldier complies and stands there weakly. The glass begins to lower itself down around him and The Soldier reaches out, trying to escape, but he is already encased. He looks at his reflection in the glass as ice starts to spread around him.

He looks at his hair, dark and falling shoulder length waves. He looks at his face, bruised from a fight he can’t remember. And the last thing he sees before going under, is his eyes, a look of defeat he does not recognize, evident in them. The Soldier is dreaming, or something along the same lines. He can see each act he’s done in reverse. He can see himself fighting Rogers at the Statue of Liberty. He sees himself shooting a couple in a car, then turning and firing into the security camera. Every mission, command, mean of training, torturous encounter with experiments, it all plays before his eyes.

All of these dreams come and go quickly however, leaving behind nothing but self loathing and his sense of duty to Hydra. The dreams that last, the dreams that play over and over are always featuring the same person. The scrawny, short, determined punk from Brooklyn. His subconscious pulls at a long ago memory. He was leading the kid through a bright hallway, soldiers were saluting him as he passed, these salutes are different than the ones he’s gotten in the more recent memories though, there was no fear in these men’s eyes.

He walked along side the man who must be called Steve. They entered a open room, crowded with people he did not recognize. He paid no attention to any of them though, he instead kept his eyes trained on Steve, bouncing his feat. A doctor gestured for Steve to lie on, a table? He wasn’t quite sure what this was. Steve laid down, unceremoniously hitting his shin as he climbed up and almost knocking over a stand with suspicious looking blue tubes.

The doctor walked to Steve’s side and said, “Comfortable?” Steve, although visibly nervous, chuckled and said, “It’s a little big.” The doctor laughed and turned to one of the men behind him, “Mr. Stark, how are your levels?” “Levels at one hundred percent.” “Good.” The doctor turned, acknowledging him for the first time.

“Sergeant Barnes? Don’t you think you would be a little more comfortable in the booth? Bucky?” He, Bucky, looked up at the doctor and replied, “Oh, yes, of course, sorry.”

“Good.” Bucky cast one last glance behind him at Steve as he made his way up the steps to the viewing room. Steve gave him a reassuring nod and Bucky returned it with a half smile. It was all he could muster up considering he had no idea how all this would turn out. He took the last remaining seat and looked down from above. The doctor tapped the microphone in his hand a few times before clearing his throat and speaking, “Do you hear me? Is this on? Ladies and gentlemen, today we take, not another step towards annihilation, but the first step on the path to peace.”

As the man was talking nurses were lowering metal bands onto Steve. “We begin with a series of microinjections into the subjects major muscle groups. The serum infusion will cause immediate cellular change.” The nurses were now placing the blue tubes into holders near Steve’s arms. Bucky felt himself tense at the memory. “And then, to stimulate growth, the subject will be saturated with Vita-Rays.” A nurse leaned over and injected a small amount of clear liquid into Steve’s arm.

Bucky could just hear Steve’s voice mustering out a tense, “That wasn’t so bad.” Bucky smiled a little. The doctor spoke to Steve now, “That was penicillin.” Steve looked more than a little bit nervous now. The doctor addressed the people in the booth once again, “Serum infusion beginning in five, four, three, two, one.” The blue stuff disappeared into smaller tubes that crisscrossed over Steve’s flesh. Bucky held his breath.

“Now, Mr. Stark.” The doctor commanded. With those words the table rose until it was fully vertical as different sheets of metal closed around Steve. The doctor placed a hose in a plug in the side of the metal separating him, from Steve. The doctor knocked on the metal where Steve’s head would be.

“Steven? Can you hear me?” A muffled voice called back, “It’s probably too late to go to the bathroom, right?” Bucky smiled and shook his head as the doctor said, “We will proceed.” At those words Howard Stark started to turn a dial, shouting out each time the force percentage went up by ten. At ten percent a blazing white light showed through the window in the metal cocoon.

Each time the number got higher the light would get brighter, and Bucky’s body would tense that much more. At seventy percent Steve began to scream, it was the worst sound Bucky had heard in his life. The yell tore into him and he was on his feet. He raced from the viewing room. “Shut it down! SHUT IT DOWN!”

His fists were clenched around railing as he yelled instructions to the men below, his face panicked. “No! Don’t! I can do this!” Steve was yelling still but managed to get out the words. Bucky was forced to turn away as they went to one hundred percent. The light was blinding, even from a distance. Then, darkness, the wires around the room fired then died. Bucky leaned over the railing, waiting. “Mr. Stark?” The metal opened and… “Bucky? Bucky!” There were hands shaking him, he groaned as his eyelids slowly rose.

There was no longer just cold, something warm was next to him. This thing grabbed his arm and slung it over his shoulder as he helped Bucky, was that really his name? How strange, to his feet. “Come on, I’m not letting go of you anymore bud.” Bucky’s head rolled onto his own shoulder, unable to summon the strength to raise it.

This thing was still talking to him. It was wrong, his name could not be Bucky, Bucky was the bright, pure, thing he had seen in a dream. It was not him, he was the tainted, evil, useless soldier. This man should not be trying to save him. He did not deserve to be saved, he deserved to die. . . .


	8. Chapter 8

-Steve-

 

(Two days earlier)

 

Steve woke to the sound of someone calling his name. He got up and walked sleepily over to the door, being careful to avoid the broken crystal shards lying on the ground from last night’s breakdown. He opened the door to find an obviously annoyed Natasha waiting for him. “Jarvis wouldn’t let me up onto your floor, we have a meeting in half an hour at the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.” Steve nodded and walked back into his room, leaving the door ajar.

Natasha followed him and looked around at the remnants of the crystal lamp on the floor, the papers everywhere and the one in tact picture still in the room, it was a picture of a man in a green uniform, he appeared to be a sergeant. He was smiling slightly and it surprised Natasha that she didn’t recognize him. She knew pretty much all of Steve’s friends. Steve grabbed a pair of dark blue jeans, a white T-shirt and his usual brown leather jacket and went into the bathroom to change.

Steve was too tired to try and explain the state of his room to Natasha, he was sure he would suffer a full interrogation about it later but couldn’t bring himself to care. Last night, after the shock had worn off he had been happy, truly happy, James Buchanan Barnes was alive, Steve could find him, but then he had started to really think about the man he seen seen on the bridge, he was ruthless. And yet, after Steve had called his name and Bucky had picked up his discarded gun he had glanced down, Bucky, The Winter Soldier, had hesitated, Steve had seen it, the momentary look of doubt before his face hardened once more.

Then Tony had come in, but it had happened, even in the state Steve had been in, really seeing Bucky’s face for the first time in decades, he had noticed the hesitation. The Winter Soldier was over shadowing Bucky. He didn’t know how they had gotten Bucky to turn into this but Steve would try as hard as he could to get him out of it. However, this man, whoever he once was, however Steve hated it, didn’t seem like the kind that could be saved.

He knew it was his fault that Bucky had been taken in the first place, all the things he hadn’t let himself think about since that night had come up. “You coming?” Steve shook himself out of his stupor and finished brushing his teeth. He walked out to where Natasha was waiting and they wordlessly made their way down to the car.

 

——

 

The rest of the group at the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters had already arrived by the time that they got there. Natasha said a quick apology for being late as the both of them sat down around the table. Steve looked up expectantly at Fury,

“Cap’s encounter yesterday has caused us to rethink our plan for infiltrating Hydra, it has proved that The Winter Soldier does, in fact, exist. With this knowledge we can no longer assume that the other ghost stories about Hydra are anything other than fact. We have heard rumors that Hydra is planning to attack the United States as soon as their major weapon is finished, our source said that this would probably be achievable in the next two months, unfortunately communication was cut off last week and we are not able to know if or when exactly the attack will take place. We know where the main base is but we can’t exactly knock on their front door now can we?”

“Why not? It’s worked in the past.”

“I know that back in your time you worked solo but now we have a team, we also have more to lose.” Steve stayed silent for the rest of the conversation as they discussed various ways of using military equipment to take Hydra. In all truth they had no idea what they were talking about. No military weapon could hope to do anything to Hydra. He knew that the other Avengers, with the exception of a few, agreed that a diversion would be their best chance at getting into Hydra.

After the meeting ended Steve met up with Clint, Natasha and Thor. “So what’s your plan?” Natasha asked, “We are going to need some kind of a diversion, something to draw focus away from the minor entrances, that’s where Thor comes in. You are practically indestructible so you’ll be the bait.”

“Always happy to help.” He grumbled. “Clint, you stay up high, find a surveillance point and take out as many as you can, you’ll be our eyes. Natasha, you and I will go through the vents. The most secured room is directly in the middle, so that must be where the weapons are, you go in and disable as many as you can. I go after The Red Skull.”

“This is the worst plan I have ever heard. When do we leave?” Clint asked. “Tomorrow.” “And what about Bruce and Tony?” “We tell them we want to take Hydra our own way, if they want in, good, if they don’t, don’t say any more about it.”

 

——

 

(Now)

 

Steve was nervous, they all were, Bruce had decided to come, and Tony had reluctantly agreed as well, with a little revision to the plan they were ready to go. The plane landed three miles down on one of the least used paths leading to the base. They would walk the rest of the way. It was cold, Steve could feel the bite of the wind with each breath he took. The fall leaves were coated in frost, each step he took sounded deafening in the silent forest.

He, Natasha, Clint and Bruce were the quietest in the bunch due to the fact that Tony was in armor and Thor obviously had no idea how to be stealthy. They had walked for about forty minutes before Steve turned to the others, pointing at a light that was just visible through the trees. Suddenly Clint hissed, “Get off to the side! Move!” They dove off the path as a small fleet of covered trucks approached.

Steve nodded as the last car grew nearer, the group tensed, then one by one, they leapt into the covered back of the truck. They made no noise as they threw the, now unconscious, Hydra soldiers out. The truck stopped after entering the large gate. The team jumped out and quickly made their way around behind a large, parked truck. Steve nodded to Clint and with that he ran, crouched down, to the side of the nearest building. Getting himself a surveillance point.

Steve could hear him speaking as though next to him, “There’s a crew of about four headed your way but other then that you seem to be good.” Steve gestured for the rest to follow him, Bruce and Thor stayed behind, waiting for the signal from Cap to start the diversion. He and Natasha made their way towards the dark gray wall, towering above him. About fifteen feet up the was a small vent, Steve spoke into his earpiece, “We still clear Clint?”

“The big guys took care of that small group, nothing else headed your way.” Steve was relieved, he really had no idea how he was supposed to pull this off, but however long they could put off detection is a miracle to him. Natasha slipped on black gloves, climbed up a nearby tank and propelled herself into the wall. The gloves were somehow securing her to wall as she kicked the screen off of the vent. She then climbed in and disappeared into the black.

Steve climbed onto the top of the same tank, he took a deep breath, stepped back as far as he could, ran, and jumped. He had aimed well and was able grab onto the ledge behind where the screen had been. He hauled himself up just and, when safely inside the narrow vent tunnel, spoke into his ear piece. “Thor, when you're ready. Tony, when all the focus is on those two, blast your way in, you’re going after their plans, as soon as you find their targets, find Natasha and get out. And Bruce, smash.”

Once he had finished speaking he heard a crash, promptly followed by a roar and lots of gunfire. He crawled further into the vent, trying to think of anything but the metal walls pressing in on him, his breathing was harsh as he looked ahead at Natasha. She turned back and motioned that there was an opening ahead. She then slid out of sight and Steve could hear her light footsteps on the cement floor.

Steve dropped down and hit the hard floor, relieved to be able to fully breathe again. He had the blueprints memorized and he took the first right he came to down the hall, from the looks of it the section of the building that held The Winter Soldier was the furthermost left corner. Steve ran as fast as he could until he reached the right corridor. Steve ran down the hall and stopped at a door marked containment.

He pushed it open slowly and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, there, in a huge glass cylinder of sorts was a body. Steve raced to it and banged on the glass, his eyes looked frantically around the room and found a control panel, he pressed the largest button and the glass began to raise itself. He was back at Bucky’s side and put his arm around him. He was freezing, he lifted Bucky off the platform and leaned him against the wall.

He was wary, he had no idea if he would attack him or even remember him. He ran his hand through his hair as he assessed Bucky’s state. “Buck. Do you remember me?” Bucky looked up slowly, his voice was rough and broken. “Your mom’s name is Sara. You used to wear newspapers in your shoes…” Steve smiled, he heard a bang and a yell from somewhere nearby and lifted Bucky to his feet. . . .


	9. Chapter 9

-Bucky-

 

“Come on.” Bucky was still being propelled down the hall but was starting to regain some of his strength when a cold voice spoke. “Captain America! How exciting!” Bucky recoiled at the sound, Steve looked back, alarmed at the sudden loss of contact, Bucky almost whimpered as the man stepped towards him, “Ah, yes, I see The Soldier still remembers me,”

Bucky’s head is filled with pain and humiliation but he stands, wobbling only slightly. Steve looks back at him then steps towards the man, punching him hard across the jaw. “You got no idea who you’re dealing with do you?” The man straightens once more, a dangerous glint in his eye. “Haven’t I?” He slams his fist into Steve’s shield with enough power to send him flying backwards. He walks towards Bucky and begins speaking,

“Zhelaniye (Longing,)”

Bucky falls to the ground and begins seizing. Steve looks to Bucky, horrified, the man walks towards him and Steve kicks him in the chest as hard as he can, the man stumbles back, unable to continue speaking to Bucky. He then steps forward and delivers yet another blow to Steve’s face, Bucky forces himself back to his feet reaches forward, grabbing Steve’s arm to prevent him from striking at the man again.

“You can’t beat him.”

"You want to bet?"

 

. . .

 

-Steve-

 

(One Month Later)

 

Steve jumped as Bucky practically fell out of his chair and crawled to the wall. Bucky had his palms covering his ears so hard they turned white. He was rocking back and forth, a terrified look on his face. The man sitting next to them stood and started moving towards Bucky, who cowered even more, Steve jumped forward and shoved the guy out of the way. “Hey, it’s okay, it’s me, you’re okay, they can’t get to you.”

Steve grabbed the huddled form and pulled him into his chest, the screams from the screen melded with the whimpers from Bucky as more people began to stand, staring at them. One man reached forward and grabbed Steve, “Hey, you guys okay?” Steve nodded, never taking his eyes off of Bucky. No one's attention was on the film as the scene ended, a security guard walked in, baton in hand, “You need to leave, you’re interrupting the movie.”

The man reached forward and grabbed Bucky’s shoulder. Bucky threw off his hand and, too fast to track, propelled himself towards the man that had touched him. Steve jumped to his feet as well and managed to catch Bucky, pushing him back into the wall, one forearm pushed back on Bucky’s chest, making him unable to touch the man he was struggling to reach. “You need to leave.” Steve turned as the guard reached for him and punched him across the jaw.

The man fell to the ground as the other people in the theater gasped. Steve looked back to Bucky, who was still panting for air. He grabbed his shoulders and led him out of the room. Out in the street Bucky sat down once more, trembling. Steve knelt down beside him and put his hand on Bucky’s left shoulder. They sat there for a minute as Bucky calmed down. Steve should have warned Bucky, he should have known the movie would bring up… things.

The torture scene must've been too much. Bucky had flipped out. Steve knew the state Bucky would get in if he remembered. He knew how if anyone other than Steve came close to him he would go all “Winter Soldier.” After a minute Bucky stood and Steve followed suit. They said nothing as they walked down the street, Steve just threw his arm around Bucky’s shoulder, like Bucky used to after finding Steve, beaten and bloody in an alleyway. That was all it took to make them feel like just a couple kids from Brooklyn. . . .


	10. Chapter 10

-Bucky-

 

He shouldn't have freaked out like that. That was stupid, he had done things that would make the pope come at him with a pitchfork. Bucky was sitting alone in Steve's apartment, Steve had left to go to the Avengers headquarters, he had said that he was going to try and convince them that Bucky wasn't a threat. Bucky had tried to stop him, people that protect him end up dead. Or worse.

 

. . .

 

-Steve-

 

Steve stepped into the elevator and pressed the button to take him to the first floor, his head was still spinning from the meeting. He had tried to convince them to stop going after Bucky, they hadn't bought it. He could tell they were wary of him, at least they hadn't accused him of treason. He gazed out of the glass box taking him down and looked at the sky.

The elevator dinged and stopped as three men stepped in, Steve could hear the last couple words of an apparently ongoing conversation between them. “…all personnel on site. Cap.” Steve turned around and looked at the man who had spoke to him. “Rumlow.” He said, nodding to the man. The doors shut as the three men moved to the side, leaving Steve in the middle.

“Evidence response found some fibers on the roof they want us to see, you want me to get tac team ready?” Steve looked down, uninterested, “No, let’s see what it is first.” “Right.” Steve looked out of the corner of his eye at the men, both had their hands on the shock batons strapped to their legs. They were shifting on their feet, edgy. The elevator stopped and dinged once more as five more men entered, “Excuse me.” One said to Steve as he shifted himself behind him.

Steve moved to the back of the area, putting his back to the wall, keeping his eyes on the incomers. “Sorry about what happened with your friend. Messed up what happened to him.” Rumlow addressed him. “Thank you.” Steve replied, stone faced. He looked one of the men next to him, his eyes zeroed in on a bead of sweat running down his face, the nervous tick of his eye. Another ding, the elevator stopped once more and three men got in, one was fairly smaller than Steve but the other two were much broader, clearly bodyguards of some kind.

With these new bodies the elevator had become quite packed. Steve looked to these two men, then glanced around at the others surrounding him. The doors shut with a click. “Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?” Steve’s voice had dropped the polite sound. He looked around the room for any sign that someone was not involved. Rumlow was directly in front of him, he paused, then Steve heard the sound of the shock baton being turned on as Rumlow turned and swung at him.

The two body guards grabbed Steve and held him against the wall, Steve hit the emergency stop button as the men pushed him back, and felt the elevator come to a halt underneath him. He struggled against the guards as everyone in the room drew out a shock baton, three people were trying to taser him into unconsciousness. Four other men had joined the guards in holding him down and put him in a solid choke hold.

One shouted out “Mobilize S.T.R.I.K.E. units, 25th floor!” The last two drew something that resembled a bracelet from their suitcases and clipped them around Steve’s wrists. Steve yelled through his teeth as the metal cuffs dragged his arms towards the metal beam above him. The magnetic force was insanely strong. With all his strength he pulled down his arms and kicked one of the men holding him in the knee, he heard the snap of breaking bone. The man fell and would not stand back up. Steve elbowed one of the guards in the face and kicked the other in the chest. Both were down.

His hand was too close to the metal now though and he was stuck. He frantically yanked on the metal cuff as Rumlow spoke, “Whoa, big guy. - I just want you to know, Cap, this isn’t personal!” Rumlow swung and hit him with the shock baton and Steve yelled, his body convulsing. Suddenly there was a crash and the electricity vanished from his bones. This was followed by an even louder crash and multiple thuds. “It kind of feels personal.” Said a rough voice behind him.

Steve twisted his neck around to look at the newcomer. He saw a flash of silver as the man pulled a gun and aimed. The wrist cuff broke and fell to the floor and Steve rubbed his wrist. He looked up to see Bucky leaning over the last conscious man of the nine. Rumlow lifted his head and began to speak. Bucky swung his foot and Rumlow collapsed to the ground, unmoving. Steve hit the button to get the elevator moving again.

It stopped on the twenty fifth floor and when the doors opened they were greeted by a hallway full of SWAT team agents. Bucky lunged forward and forced the doors shut once more. “Give it up Rogers! Get that door open! You have know where to go!” Steve turned and looked at the glass side facing out of the building. He glanced at Bucky and gave him a nod, he sprinted forward and crashed, shield first, through the glass. He fell, his body curled tightly behind the metal.

He heard something crack on impact with the hard cement but stood and looked up to where Bucky was leaning over the edge. Steve gestured with his arm and disappeared from sight. A second later he appeared holding something. He swung his leg over the edge and the rest of his body followed. However he did not fall, he slid down the side of the building and landed a few feet from Steve, unharmed. They both stood in the empty street as Bucky held up the magnetic cuff that he had shot off Steve’s wrist. “You could have just told me you were scared of heights and I’m sure I could have carried you.” Steve said with a grin,

“You’re a punk, come on.” Bucky said, laughter in his eyes. “Jerk.” . . .


	11. Chapter 11

-Bucky-

 

Bucky’s smile disappeared as the sound of guns cocking and protective vests shifting filled their ears. “James Barnes and Steve Rogers! Drop your weapons! We have you surrounded!” Steve raised his shield and clipped it to his back in a fluid motion. Bucky automatically crouched slightly, preparing for a fight. The one rule of Hydra was, never get caught. He moved his hand slowly back to his gun, unnoticed, as the chief of police continued shouting orders.

He was stopped by Steve’s hand, he held it out in front of Bucky, staying him. Bucky looked up into the man’s eyes, confused. Steve shook his head as he slowly raised both hands behind his head and bent down to his knees. Bucky saw hands fastening hand cuffs to Steve’s wrists. Bucky knew that Steve could break them as easily as snapping a pencil but he did not. Bucky felt himself being roughly pushed to the ground.

He was shoved onto his stomach and someone secured something much stronger to his arms. He was unable to move them an inch. His left arm whirred, the metal plates shifting in an attempt to escape. Bucky had yet to make a move, he stared to where Steve was standing once more, his hands caught behind his back. “Teach him a lesson.” Bucky heard the distant order shouted from behind his as he was yanked off the ground and hands pulled his gun and multiple knives from him, tossing them aside. He was still looking to Steve when he felt a sharp blow to his stomach. He fell to his knees and looked up in time to see the S.W.A.T. team move forward.

His head snapped back when a foot connected with his jaw. Bucky struggled to stand, to free his hands, anything, but was unsuccessful. He flew back onto the pavement as yet another kick was delivered to his face. It felt like someone was beating him with sledge hammers.

A kick, a punch, his head slamming back into the cement. It was all pain. He curled himself into a ball and tucked his head but it did little to protect him from the steel tipped boots connecting with his bones. He felt something inside of him crack, he flipped back onto his feet and head butted one of his assailants. More and more came towards him as he delivered kicks and bites wherever he could. Bucky felt the Winter Soldier rearing up in him as his blows became more strong.

Bucky yelled and threw himself into the building’s wall. He crashed straight through the bricks and slid into the lobby. The S.W.A.T. team followed him and instead of moving in on him they shot him with electricity. He convulsed and his body thrashed with each shock. He was dragged back out into the daylight. He knew he was in the sun but saw nothing but black. A second later he was able to make out shapes.

Men were dragging him towards a large truck and Steve, Steve was fighting fighting them. Bucky was thrown painfully into the truck and he groaned, his ribs ached and he was so covered in cuts he couldn’t see where the blood started and ended. He pulled himself to his feet and looked desperately out the window. To get one last look at the thing he had destroyed.

 

——

 

“Who are you?”

“My names Bucky.”

“Tell me Bucky. You have seen a great deal haven’t you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Bucky’s voice was a whisper, there was a lump in his throat that he could not get rid of, he saw nothing but the image of Steve. Screaming and kicking as he was dragged away. He had fought like he was possessed, the noble, upstanding Steve Rogers had injured nine cops on the spot. He had struggled and yelled as Bucky was lead, bloodied and bruised away from the spot.

The last thing he had seen of this man was when the doors of the S.H.I.E.L.D. escort car had closed around him and Steve had forced himself off the ground, snarling at the men holding him. Bucky, barely alive, had pressed his forehead to the glass and heard Steve screaming his name. Bucky had truly thought he had been safe. He was never going to be safe, no matter what Steve said it was him that had done all those horrible things.

It could not be blamed on Hydra or the Winter Soldier, it had still been him. He had escaped from Hydra to be taken by S.H.I.E.L.D. He did not struggle against the bonds holding him, it was no use, he was in the hands of the “good guys,” no one would come to rescue him. He refused to speak for the rest of the time the man was in the room. He replied only with, “Sergeant James Barnes, 107th.” He muttered his entire military file through the entire interview, through the time in between visits, even in his sleep, what little they allowed him.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is super short, I promise the next one will be longer and I will update as soon as possible, I hope you enjoy!

-Steve-

 

Twelve days, twelve days Steve had been locked away, pacing around the small cell beneath the ocean. He had gone through every emotion he thought possible in his time here, anger at S.H.I.E.L.D. for taking Bucky, fear for what his friend was going through and that he might snap, grief for the people he had hurt for just following orders, humiliation for how helpless he was, unable to escape this prison. 

He sat down on the hard mattress furthest away from the clearly unbreakable glass leading to a large round space in the center of the prison. He shouldn’t have reacted the way he did, if he had stayed calm, tried to reason with S.H.I.E.L.D. then maybe, maybe he would’ve been able be with Bucky now. 

But no, he now had no idea what they were doing to him, in the eyes of the government he was no more than a weapon to be programmed to fit their needs, Steve didn’t know how much more pain Buck could take, and when, if, he broke, Steve feared for the people forced to encounter the Winter Soldier.

Steve raised his head slowly as a door on the far side of his cell opened, “After being frozen for seventy years you’d think you wouldn’t want to be locked up again so soon but you know, a fossils a fossil.” 

Steve stood as Sam entered the room, “Come on Cap, you’re outta here.” Steve nodded without speaking, he followed Sam through the dim corridors, taking in the smell of mildew and sweat, lining the hallways were guards, looking as though they would be all too pleased to shoot first and ask questions later. 

As they approached the steel doors at the end of the long stretch of cement a guard stepped forward and handed Steve his shield and suit. As he had been arrested in his civilian clothes they had confiscated his shield and suit immediately. The large doors swung open and Sam lead Steve to the small plane waiting for them. 

As they took their seats Sam asked, “Now, I know you have more sense, but it took alot to get you out of here so you wouldn’t go and do anything stupid now would you?” Steve grimaced slightly, “I won’t let them turn him into a weapon, Sam.” 

 

“I just wanna make sure we consider all our options. The people that shoot at you usually wind up shooting at me.”

 

“You don’t have to help me, but either way, I’m getting Bucky back.” Sam nodded, well then we are gonna have some work ahead of us, they got him pretty well locked up.” 

 

“You up for the challenge?”

  
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

 

\---

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever fanfiction, if you see any errors or something please tell me, I hope you guys like it! I will write more chapters soon.


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